West Chester school board holding line on taxes

WESTTOWN — West Chester Area school officials Monday night adopted a preliminary budget for the 2013-14 school year with no tax increase.

“I am confident that having no tax increase in next year’s budget is the right approach for property owners in the still recovering economy,” said Vince Murphy, board president. “I am also confident that it is the right approach for our school district. No programs will have to be cut in order to balance the budget as we continue to provide a quality education to our students.”

According to district administrators, more than half of the $7.49 million increase in spending is driven by state-mandated payments into the Public School Employees’ Retirement System.

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Additional mandated spending for special education programs also drove new expenditures.

While the expenses have increased, so have revenues, with an expected $204.9 million budgeted, up from $201.3 million.

With revenues falling short of projected expenses, the district will be using about $4.4 million from its fund balance to even out the budget and stay a tax increase, though the projected $28.1 million available in the fund balance at the current year end is substantially higher than the $18.2 million originally budgeted.

The board passed the preliminary budget by a vote of 8-1, with board member Sue Tiernan dissenting and raising concerns about tax increases sure to come in the next few years and the lack of a new teachers’ contract.

“In this atmosphere and, yes, in this economy I do not think it wise to borrow from our future by budgeting a zero percent tax increase for the second time in three years,” Tiernan said.

Tiernan was clear she did not think the use of funding from the district reserves was wise given the retirement system’s financial crisis.

Earlier in the meeting, Debbie Fell, president of the West Chester Area Education Association, asked the board to rethink the decision to take funds from the reserves, arguing one of the reasons the board was unable to reach an agreement on a new teachers’ contract was the retirement system’s costs.

“What message are you sending to the district teachers now?” Fell asked.

Taxpayers in the Chester County portion of the district will have the same real estate tax rates as in the current budget year. The district reported residents in Thornbury, Delaware County, within the district will see a modest tax reduction.

The real estate tax rate for Chester County residents in the district remains at 18.67 mills, while Delaware County taxpayers will experience a slight decrease to 13.62 mills, down from 13.78 mills in 2012-13.

A mill is $1 of tax for each $1,000 of assessed property value.

With an average residential assessment of $189,850, the average Chester County real estate tax bill will be $3,554 for 2013-14.

In Delaware County, the average resident tax bill will be $3,882, based on an average assessment of $285,000.

Chester County taxpayers account for 95 percent of the district’s residential property tax revenue, made up from more than 29,000 residential parcels.

Delaware County accounts for the other 5 percent of residential parcels, totaling 1,600 homes.

“Our district has been a model for responsible spending and conservative budgeting for the past three years,” said Sean Carpenter, chairman of the board’s property and finance committee. “Because of the effort taken by our entire district — the board, staff, teachers, students and community members — we are able to balance our budget without increasing taxes and at the same time maintain our excellent programs.”

The administration said a slightly improved economic environment contributed to a stronger district budget profile. Property assessment appeals lowered the district’s tax base by an average of $87 million the past three years with development and sales at an all-time low

The district’s department of business and finance worked to plan for spikes in mandated spending and took action to reduce the effects of this spending by adopting a plan to place money in funds to be used when needed. Other cost cutting plans, including the elimination of 70 positions, contributed to $15 million in savings between 2009 and 2011.

“With the cooperation of our community we have been extremely successful in managing the severe budget challenges our board faced in recent years,” Superintendent Jim Scanlon said. “We have planned very carefully to reduce costs and designate funds to offset the need for a tax increase for 2013-14. With mandated expenses such as the (retirement system contributions), however, we may not be able to sustain our outstanding programs without considering a tax increase in future years.”

Adoption of the final 2013-14 budget is scheduled to take place at the monthly school board meeting on May 28.

About the Author

Jeremy Gerrard is the Daily Local News' reporter covering the West Chester area and local school district. Jeremy is a Chester County native and a graduate of Auburn University. Reach the author at jgerrard@dailylocal.com
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